(TAN): Saudi Arabia’s tourism minister has said the kingdom plans to resume tourist visas by early 2021, Zawya reported.
Saudi Arabia opened its doors to foreign tourists in September 2019 by launching a new visa regime for 49 countries. It aims for the sector to contribute 10% of gross domestic product by 2030.
Speaking to Reuters, Tourism Minister Ahmed al-Khateeb said, “For tourist visa, until now we are talking about early next year. If things get better or if any positive developments happen with regards to the vaccine, we might accelerate and have it earlier.”
[ALSO READ: World Tourism Day- South Africa to celebrate with music by local stars]
The minister said the tourism industry had been hit hard by the pandemic and the government expects a 35–45% decline by the end of the year. The focus on domestic tourism during the summer has somewhat compensated for the lack of international tourists.
“This pandemic is a systematic risk that has hit everyone; however, we have seen a very strong summer after the January-May lockup period,” the report quoted Khateeb as saying. “We have noticed a growth of 30% year on year in domestic tourism which is beyond our expectations.”
According to the report, Saudi Arabia has reported 332,790 Covid-19 cases and 4,655 deaths so far.
